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Our sincerest thanks to Greg and Barbara Allard for sharing their thoughts and beautiful photography from their Bahamas cruise. This is a post you will want to visit again and again.

Letter from the Bahamas

by Greg Allard

Photos and text copyright by Greg & Barbara Allard, 2017

Each year, while cruising the Bahamas for several months, we send back a series of Letters to our friends and relatives. This is the final Letter from June of 2017 at the end of this year’s cruise.

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“Land was created to provide a place for boats to visit.”

– Brooks Atkinson

Hello Everyone –

Green Turtle Cay in the Abacos, with its neat little village of New Plymouth, was founded in 1786, not long after the American revolution – so you can guess who it was that arrived there then.

The Loyalists, however, were not the first inhabitants; that honor goes to the Lucayan Indians, a peaceful people who migrated to the Bahamas from Hispaniola between 700 and 1000 A.D. They came to the Bahamas to escape the cannibalistic Carib indians. The Lucayans managed to live a good life until the Spanish arrived.

While many hold Christopher Columbus in high regard, when his landing party first came ashore in the southern Bahamas the Spanish enticed the Lucayans with beads and hats. When Columbus departed, he took with him (kidnapped) a half-dozen Lucayan prisoners. According to the local historian Amanda Diedrich: “Though citing a desire for greater understanding, Columbus’ motivation for taking the Lucayans was less benevolent. Having noticed the Lucayans’ nose and ear ornaments, Columbus wanted them to lead him to the source of their gold.”

Eventually the Spanish enslaved all of the Lucayans, transporting them to work at hard labor in their gold mines and other ventures. By 1513 all surviving Lucayans were in Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Diedrich notes: “In the end, all the Bahmaian Lucayans, including the 10,000 believed to have lived in Abaco, were simply worked to death.” They were eradicated.

Ms. Diedrich’s book, Those Who Stayed, from which the above quotes were taken, is an excellent history of Green Turtle Cay. She is a ninth-generation Bahamian.

This is a painting by the internationally recognized artist, Alton Lowe, who is a resident of Green Turtle Cay. More about Mr. Lowe later. This wonderful work shows what New Plymouth looked like, perhaps 100 years ago. There were beautiful, stately, well-maintained colonial homes, directly on the waterfront.

In September of 1932, the first category 5 hurricane recorded in the Bahamas devastated the village of New Plymouth. Winds blew for several days at 160 mph, with gusts to 200 mph. The storm surge was 20’ above sea level. More than 80% of the homes were completely destroyed; a number of people were killed. If you look around the village today, you can still see the remnants of buildings from that storm.

After the hurricane of 1932, a number of the local people built hurricane shelters, as shown in this historic photo. The shelter is the small triangular building at the lower right. Strongly built and secured to the ground, it would have contained multiple bunks and basic living supplies. None of them are still in existence.

This is how New Plymouth looks today. The waterfront homes are less grand, but it is still a thriving little town, with the most friendly people imaginable. The island is now a mix of both black and white Bahamians. Curiously, they still have a strong allegiance to Great Britain.

Over the last two centuries, the residents of New Plymouth have earned their living in various ways, some of which have provided continuous employment, while other occupations were short lived. Scale fishing, conch harvesting and lobster catching have always been reliable. They have raised pineapples, gathered sponges, grown sisal trees to use the fibers for rope, been “wreckers” (salvaging cargo from ships which ran aground on the reefs surrounding Green Turtle Cay), and even raised sugar cane for a while – having built their own mill. Some locals were involved in rum running during prohibition and others participated in the drug trade. They are a resilient people, who are now adapting to the next new venture, tourism.

Green Turtle is a bit off the path, but it is slowly becoming known by people who want to visit an authentic Bahamian settlement, and at the same time have a comfortable place to stay: there are three simple resorts on the cay. The beaches are some of the nicest in the Abacos.

Cruisers will find three full service marinas on Green Turtle: Green Turtle Club and Bluff House, both in White Sound, and the Leeward Yacht Club in Black Sound; some other very reasonably priced marinas with limited services are in Black Sound, as well as a good boatyard with hauling facilities. There are some moorings and limited anchoring in Black Sound, and anchorages on the outside of New Plymouth harbour. The entrance to Black Sound is shallower than the channel into White Sound. Some boats, depending on draft, will need to use the tide to enter Black Sound; we waited until two hours on either side of that day’s high tide to enter with our boat. The depths of both entry channels may vary depending on other conditions, including the winds and the phase of the moon. Depending on your boat’s draft, you will need to rely on your charts, cruising guides, and any other sources to determine the safest entry. It is always a good idea to call the dockmaster before you enter, to obtain important local knowledge.

Three new cottages apparently built for second-home owners. Not sure they would survive a storm surge of more than a few feet.

The streets in New Plymouth are extremely narrow, making a golf cart the perfect mode of transport. Have you ever seen any child more relaxed than this one?

Here’s one of the streets, almost too narrow for even a golf cart; along the white wall there was 2” of clearance on either side. It wouldn’t be fun to topple into the water….

Visitors to New Plymouth ask why there are stairs on the outside of this building – stairs which lead to nowhere. The answer is that the local court house was the second story of this building, and the jail was on the ground floor. The hurricane of 1932 blew off the second story court house, leaving only “ye olde jail”. One of the local people commented that he didn’t think anyone had ever been confined in that jail, either before or after the hurricane. Why? “Because we have no crime here”.

A storm moves into Black Sound. Shortly after this picture was taken, all hell broke loose. Fortunately, we were securely tied to a dock at the Leeward Yacht Club.

Hilda Curry, a straw weaver and basket maker, and a lifelong resident of New Plymouth.

On one of the neighboring islands, there are some wild Abaco horses. Hilda created this child’s

corral, with straw horses inside. Notice the inscription on the outside of the corral.

Walking the streets of New Plymouth.

A local bar, called Sundowners. As we looked at the sign above the door, we couldn’t help but wonder who Irene was, and what she did to be banned from this place.

One of the quaint streets in New Plymouth. The home on the immediate left is called the Chamberlain-Kendrick house. It is one of the few houses which survived the great hurricane.

In 1890, when he was 21 years of age, Neville Chamberlain was sent here from England by this father to manage a sisal plantation investment. The Chamberlains owned this home, and Neville lived there. Neville Chamberlain went on to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940.

While it survived the hurricane, the Chamberlain home is in poor condition. Its current owner, an architect, says that she has no intention of trying to restore it, and that it’s fine just the way it is. There’s some merit to that.

Another of the old, pre-hurricane homes is now the Albert Lowe museum, named after a local man who was a fisherman, boat builder, and eventually in retirement, a boat-model maker. The museum was founded in 1976 by his son Alton Lowe and it was the first museum ever established in the Bahamas.

Alton Lowe is an exceptionally skilled artist, especially at portraiture. This is his painting of his father Albert. It’s reminiscent of the work of Norman Rockwell.

One of Albert Lowe’s ship models, this one a sponge boat.

My favorite Alton Lowe portrait is this one of Marian “Miss Mary” Hewitt, who was known to locals as “Dana.” She was a midwife, and delivered all of the children on Green Turtle for many years starting in the early 1900’s. In those days, the midwife not only helped to deliver the baby, but then cared for the baby and mother for nine days and nights. Her fee in the early years was about $2.00, and towards the end of her career she received $12.00. The last baby she delivered was her great-grandson; she performed that delivery when she was 84 years of age.

During this year’s cruise to the Bahamas, we told our cruising friends about the “famous” Bahamian desert called Guava Duff. (“Duff” is an English word for pudding, but Guava Duff is not really a pudding as understood by Americans.) In years past, we had been able to find Guava Duff fairly often, but for almost three months, after asking on multiple islands, we could not find anyone who was still making it. Our friends started to think that it really did not, and never did, exist.

One day we were exploring Green Turtle by golf cart, and we came upon this young woman, Alicia Smith, who was walking. We stopped to talk with her, and learned that she was the head chef at the Lizard Cafe, which was located at the Leeward Yacht Club marina where we had docked our boats. She told us about her extensive culinary training at the University of the Bahamas in Freeport, and her prior position at a major resort on Grand Bahama. We casually mentioned that we had been unable to find Guave Duff for the entire time we had been in the Bahamas. She immediately responded: “Oh….I can make you some. When do you want it? Do you want slices or the whole loaf?” She agreed to make a loaf that night, and we would pick it up in the morning.

As we continued on our trip, we noticed several flyers which she had put up on telephone poles, describing her business of making baked goods, and in particular Guava Duff. So, by accident, we had met theGuava Duff person on the island. A good coincidence.

We picked it up the next day. The Guava Duff is the long white loaf, cut in half, with the guava swirled inside. You can see how light and spongy the dough is, from all of the little holes. The reason that it is difficult to find is that it is difficult to make. It is not baked. It is usually placed into a mesh bag or a pillow case and boiled. Alicia uses a similar steaming method. That’s why the outside does not have a crust. The key to a good Guava Duff is the sweet butter rum sauce, which is heated up and poured hot over a warm slice of the duff. Unimaginably good.

Alicia also gave us a small pina colada bread pudding, which is between the two halves of duff. It was equally good. The loaf of bread at the left is coconut, made by another local woman.

The pink pig at the upper right was a birthday gift to me from someone from whom I didn’t deserve a birthday gift. Birthday piggy just needs to be the center of attention everywhere, and it appears that Guava Duff is one of his favorites.

We dove on a spectacular reef off No Name Cay, south of Green Turtle, and were thrilled to find this incredible large colony of Elkhorn coral which looks like the horns of a moose or elk. This variety of coral has suffered significant losses since the 1990’s due to disease.

In a nearby cave I saw the tail of big shark, sleeping. I got close enough to take a poor picture of the tail, but I decided to let sleeping sharks lie.

A beautiful assortment of varied coral, including two sea fans (middle and right). Based on our picture guides, the bigger light green one to the rear of the purple sea fan is not a coral but a plant: Cactus Tree Alga. We think that the white coral, with the holes, to the right of the purple sea fan, may be box fire coral. The smaller one immediately behind the fan (gray in color) is likely slit-pore sea rods. We are still learning to identify reef corals and plants; we have several good picture guides, but many of the corals and plants on the reefs look similar.

Green Turtle Cay is named after…green turtles. They were once eaten, but are now protected.

At Coco Beach in the remote north end of Green Turtle, we brought some small frozen fish to feed the turtles. Before long, several of them appeared.

My wife Barbara took all of these excellent photos of our “turtle encounter” from a nearby dock. She managed to capture a surprising series of events as they happened around us.

This photo, especially its background (which is the sea bottom) looks like an impressionistic painting.

We were not alone with the turtles for long. Predators soon moved in. The barracuda at the upper right of this photo was one of several who appeared, looking for a free meal.

It seems that the barracuda were not to be our only guests. While three of us were standing in several feet of water feeding the turtles, a normally non-aggressive nurse shark suddenly appeared and immediately went after the turtles, seeking to drive them away from the food fest. We stood still, and watched.

This turtle, who was the target of the attacks, went into defensive mode and immediately turned his back (read that: “ here’s my hard shell that you can’t bite”) to the shark. There is still danger for the turtles – sharks will bite off their flippers if given a chance. We’ve seen more than one injured in that way.

Astonishingly, the shark then swam on top of the turtle pushing him around bully-style.

The turtle resumed the defensive position, turning 90 degrees on his side. This frustrated the shark to no end, and he finally gave up and swam away.

All of us in the water left with all of our toes.

We work hard at taking good photos. Every year in the Bahamas, we take thousands of pictures. Only about a hundred of them are good enough for our Letters. (Some of the photos we include are merely record pictures, to set the scene.)

Each year only about half a dozen photos are, in our opinion, truly exceptional. This picture is one of them, and it is fitting to include it as the final photo in this Letter from the Bahamas. The photo is of a freestanding piece of Elkhorn coral, near the surface of No-Name reef. See how its colors and outline are reflected on the under-side of the surface of the water.

By the time you read this we will have crossed the Florida Straits, pushed our boat “Meander” across the Gulf Stream, and re-entered the U.S. It has been a great trip through the Bahamas this year, and we hope you have enjoyed traveling with us.

A big thank you to veteran cruiser and SSECN contributor, Greg Allard, for this excellent guide to online and printed materials related to weather.

Weather Resources for Cruisers

By Greg Allard

Cruisers- especially those looking to travel longer distances, soon learn Rule One of cruising: It’s All About the Weather.

This article discusses the weather sources we have used on the east coast of the U.S., in the Caribbean and the Bahamas, and a good bit of this information also applies to the west coast of the U.S. and Canada; some of the sources provide national or worldwide information.READ MORE!

Understanding cloud formation is critical to understanding pending weather. There are numerous sources which explain the many different clouds and what they portend. In this photo, taken off the west coast of the Berry Islands, these two upward moving cloud columns may develop into something nasty.

We don’t pretend that this article is exhaustive: experienced cruisers will undoubtedly have different sources or methods they rely upon, but these are the ones which have worked for us.

Remember: you are ultimately responsible for the decisions you make about the weather. By its very nature, weather forecasting is an inexact science, and the best professional forecasters and weather sites are, on occasion, just plain wrong. Wind forecasting is especially problematic: marine wind speeds are often different from what is forecast: sometimes less, and often – more. This article will outline multiple sources of weather information, but as captain of your boat, only you can use that information, and your own judgment, to make the decision to go, or not to go.

See Rule Two, at the end of this article.

This shelf cloud, coming across Highbourne Cay Marina in the Exumas, means: “Don’t leave the marina.”

If you have internet access:

Marv Market’s Weather Service: Marv provides a daily e-mail update which draws upon Buoy Weather reports (see below). He covers multiple locations throughout the Bahamas, the Caribbean and the eastern and Gulf coastal U.S. from Texas to Maine. As an example, if you are travelling from Miami to Bimini, there will be a specific report for that route. His reports include projected wave heights and their period (time between waves, in seconds), wind speed and direction, all shown in a seven day projection. The graphic reports are exceptionally easy to use.

Marv also provides extremely valuable Tropical Updates, whenever there is a potential severe weather system which might affect the U.S. east coast, the Caribbean or the Bahamas. His analysis is some of the best we have seen. He also appears to give alerts at least a couple of days before anyone else. The Tropical Updates come by e-mail; he sends them only when necessary.

If you want to be added to his daily mailing, send him an e-mail request at: marvboater1@aol.com. He asks for a voluntary donation while you use his service.

The convenience of having Marv’s comprehensive package of reports in your mail each morning cannot be overstated.

A fast moving storm, approaching from the SE, at Staniel Cay in the Exumas. The dark area which reaches down to the water (just to the right of the island) is heavy rain.

Buoy Weather: In my view, one of the singular best commercial internet weather sites. Annual fee: up to $79.95. Worldwide coverage. www.buoyweather.com.webloc

As mentioned above, one of Marv Market’s principal sources of information is an arrangement he has with Buoy Weather. You can access the Buoy Weather site for free, but that will only give you projections for two days. Membership gives you wind and wave forecasts for seven days, plus a number of multiple additional features, including the ability to select a specific location for your weather reports. It’s worth looking at the site, just to see what is offered.

Both Marv Market’s Weather Service, and Buoy Weather have additional links and significant features which make them individually valuable. We subscribe to both. We cruise about six months each year; having such valuable weather information available for a modest cost is an easy decision.

This site is operated by NOAA, and rather than give projections or estimates of wind and wave conditions, the advantage is that it reports actual conditions in almost real time, – at hundreds of locations, both buoy and coastal-based. For instance, if you access the Settlement Point (West End, Bahamas) report, you can see wind speed and direction no more than an hour ago. It’s valuable to know what the conditions actually are, rather than what they are supposed to be. (The Settlement Point site does not report on wave heights, but many of the various NDBC locations on the east and west coasts of the U.S. do.)

At times, some of the NBDC stations are “down” (not operating), or the sites are reporting only limited information.

Each station’s report includes a link to the full National Weather Service Marine reports. You can set up your own file of preferred NDBC locations to make access easier.

Another feature of the NBDC worth knowing about is the “Dial-A-Buoy” service. Information about it can be found using the link above. Using your cell phone (or sat phone) you call the NDBC and enter the number-identifier of the buoy you want. You will then hear a voice report of the current conditions at that buoy, and in many instances, you can also receive the voice report of the NWS forecast. It helps if you have identified the buoy ID numbers ahead of time on the internet, as obtaining them on the phone connection is cumbersome.

Wunderground: This is a general purpose weather site, not primarily marine, but it contains an great deal of good information, including links to the U.S. based radar sites.

This photo from NOAA shows a classic “anvil” cloud, one of the most important clouds for mariners to recognize. They are often a sign of thunderstorms.

As an example, here is the link to the Tampa, FL radar, which covers all of SE United States and includes the Florida Straits. www.wunderground.com/.webloc(Zoom the image out, to see full radar and wind coverages.)

While U.S. based radar only extends into the Bahamas as far as the center of Grand Bahama island, and the west side of Andros, U.S. radar is extremely helpful in planning a crossing of the Florida Straits (Gulf Stream).

The Wunderground radar link (above) also has sub-links to view lightening strikes and storms, as well as satellite views, which show storms and strikes outside of the U.S. radar area. (There is no weather radar in the Bahamas.)

The Wunderground site can also link you to land based forecasts which are helpful for projections of rain or thunderstorms. For instance, here is the link to the extensive Wunderground information for Great Harbour in The Berry Islands, Bahamas: www.wunderground.com/ 3.webloc

(Note on Bahamas internet access: Bahamian cruisers will find that access to the internet is very good in most places. Just as in the U.S., almost all marinas have wi-fi – at some it is free, others impose a charge. Or, if you are anchored or moored in the Bahamas near a BTC (Bahamian Telecommunications) tower – which are in-place on almost all inhabited islands – you will be able to access the internet, provided you have made plans with either your own carrier, or the Bahamian Telecommunications Company (BTC.). The BTC towers often offer coverage up to ten miles from shore. Some of the really remote Bahamian islands have no access, and the Exuma Land and Sea Park has internet only if you are sitting next to the office at the main headquarters at Warderick Wells.)

Non-Internet accessed Weather Sources:

VHF Radio Weather Channels:

With multiple internet ways to obtain weather, the National Weather Service reports on VHF Radio are often overlooked. They are free, current and as reliable as anything else. Depending upon the condition of your equipment and connections, and height of your antenna, their reports are often available a considerable distance offshore, and occasionally in some parts of the Bahamas.

For cruising everywhere along both U.S. coasts, significant portions of southern Canada (but not Alaska), the Bahamas and some portions of the Caribbean (including Cuba), we’ve found that the single best way of obtaining weather when the internet is not available is through Sirius Marine Weather (WxWorx). Just like Sirius radio, the information is provided by satellite.

This drawing, from the Sirius site, approximates the area of coverage of Sirius XM Marine weather. Sirius notes that: “Satellite signal strength at border regions may be limited.”

A screen shot of Sirius Marine Weather (WxWorx) from our shipboard computer in April of 2015. The lower part of Florida is on the left of the screen, and some of the Bahamian islands are in the center. The bright yellow, green and (some red) areas on the left side of the screen are all rain, picked up by the U.S. based radar. There are lightening strikes shown in the red areas on the lower left. The real time version of this screen showed the storm moving directly east. Note that the U.S. based radar only goes as far as the west end of Grand Bahama island (top of the screen) and the west side of Andros, the large grey island in the middle of the screen. All of the lightening strikes from the center to the right side of the screen have been picked up by satellite, not radar, and provided by Sirius via satellite. So while there are no radar returns showing the heavy rains from the center of the screen over to the right, the strong number of lightening strikes surely means that there is bad weather there, and likely to be heavy rains and wind. The different colors of the lightening bolts indicate the amount of time since the recorded strike: white means the strike was less than 5 minutes ago, yellow is 5-10 minutes old, and orange occurred 10-15 minutes ago.

The strength of Sirius is that you have access to the weather 24-7, without needing an internet connection. It has helped us plan for multiple open-water crossings.

A negative: the wind and wave forecasts are projected only two days out. Access to the NWS forecasts does make up, to some extent, for that deficiency.

For a stand-alone Sirius marine application you need a WxWorx “black box” and a small mushroom antenna, connected to either an onboard Windows computer or laptop. The box, from WxWorx, costs $830, however you may be able to find a perfectly serviceable used one on E-Bay. We secured a used box, and found that Sirius offers free software updates for all of their older WxWorx receivers.

We’ve had two boats equipped with Sirius; on both we’ve used a stand-alone box, connected to either a Windows desktop or a laptop. The service has been excellent and the package with the most features (recommended) is the “Master Mariner” at $49.95 a month.

Some chartplotters can also receive the Sirius data, using their own proprietary black box or related equipment. We’ve seen Sirius in use on several chartplotters, and sometimes the data presented was in a different format, less detailed and a bit more difficult to access than what we receive with our stand- alone Sirius system. This is based on several observations; some cruisers may have a different experience, depending on their hardware. This statement is from the Sirius site:

“The availability and display of service features….varies by hardware provider.”

Cruisers may find that the access to Sirius WxWorx through a chartplotter will be more than adequate, and that it is more cost-effective to connect it to their existing chartplotter..

If you want to see if you can access Sirius XM weather on your chartplotter, start by consulting your owner’s manual, or contacting the manufacturer of your device. You could also call Sirius, but do not call the regular toll-free number which is used to subscribe to the service. They are nice order-takers, but know nothing about the technical side. Instead, call one of the technical people at Sirius, whose contact information is on their website.

Sirius has a good feature which allows you to suspend the service for months at a time when you are not cruising.

Once you install the system, spending less than $2.00 a day for this kind of weather access is smart choice especially if you are doing open water passages.

Ship’s Radar: Some cruisers don’t recognize the value of the vessel’s radar as a weather monitoring tool. When it is set on longer ranges, your radar will pick up fast moving rain storms, and you can plot their direction.

Other Non Internet Options: There are a number of other sophisticated – and sometimes complex – ways of collecting weather information. They include using a “short wave” radio receiver (less than $200) to receive scheduled reports; weather reports and “GRIB” files can also be downloaded from various sources through an SSB or a SAT phone. A portable “short wave” type radio receiver is a reasonable way to receive SSB forecasts, without the chore of installing and learning how to use a full featured SSB. Just be sure that the portable short wave radio you purchase has the required frequencies to access the reports you want. (See below).

Weather Services: Paid Professional Forecasting and Routing Advisors:

Offshore, SSB and Sat Phones (with a fax) can be used to obtain voice or printed forecasts from a professional weather routing provider such as Chris Parker (search “Chris Parker Weather Service”) who offers customized interpretation of weather data tailored to your specific route. (Parker’s services can also be accessed by e-mail, internet or cell phone where you have a connection.)

The use of a weather routing service may be more important if you are cruising to remote places, travelling offshore for days at a time. Parker focuses primarily on the Bahamas, the western Atlantic (including Bermuda) and the Caribbean.

OMNI offers worldwide coverage, which you can access using multiple methods. Jones has provided services for the two Nordhavn cross-Atlantic Rallies and for multiple FUBAR rallies on the west coast of the U.S./Mexico. His service is well-regarded by experienced offshore and trans-ocean cruisers.

SUMMARY: Virtually all of the information and data available on any packaged weather site or service is available often for free, on the internet. The real value of dedicated sites (such as Buoy Weather, Passageweather or Marv’s Reports) is that they pull together in one place multiple sources of the information you need, and present it in an easy to digest, integrated format. Sirius does the same thing, but makes it available via satellite. Weather Routing Services go a good step further, and add professional interpretation to the data.

A Note on Learning about Bahamian and Caribbean Weather Patterns:

We would not think of cruising Bahamian waters without the most current editions of the Explorer Charts, which have separate chartbooks for Near Bahamas, Far Bahamas, and the Exumas. Not only do they have, in our experience, the most reliable and accurate charting details, but they also contain a huge amount of usable information about local anchorages, facilities, etc.

The current editions of the “Near Bahamas” and “Exumas” Explorer books include an excellent full page discussion of Bahamian weather, fronts, hurricanes, analysis of changing patterns by season, and other weather resources, written by Chris Parker and Frank Ready. All three books have a list of weather stations, frequencies and the times at which you can receive weather reports on a portable “short wave” type radio.

For Bahamian and Caribbean cruisers, another superb book is Bruce Van Sant’s: A Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South, which contains an excellent discussion of weather patterns from Florida, through the Bahamas, and into the Caribbean.

As was said above, as captain of your boat only you can use information about the weather, coupled with your own judgment, to make an intelligent decision. Which brings us to the second, simple rule of marine weather forecasting.

Rule Two: If you think the weather is questionable, and you are not sure if you should go, then don’t go.

Greg Allard has held a U.S. Coast Guard Master’s License for over 25 years. He has instructed U.S. Coast Guard and Navy crews, and the crews of foreign military partners of the U.S., in the operation of new coastal and offshore patrol boats delivered to them. He and his wife Barbara cruise aboard their 61’ Tollycraft “Meander” about six months a year. They have voyaged extensively along the U.S. east coast, the Bahamas, Caribbean, and most recently cruised aboard a friends’ boat in the Swedish archipelago on the Baltic Sea. He has no financial or other interest in any of the sites or companies mentioned.

Our sincere thanks to registered nurse and experienced sailor, Tony Pozun, for this very informative article on staying safe and healthy while on board.

Sailing Injuries
By Anthony Pozun, BS, RN.
Anthony Pozun is a New York State registered professional nurse and former Detective Sgt., EMT, first aid basic and
advanced courses’ instructor at the Nassau County police Academy. He is a current member and certified instructor for the United States power squadrons for sail and basic boating courses of instruction. He has been an avid boater and sailor for 50 years. He has sailed intensively on Long Island sound with his wife Barbara for the past 30 years. Read More

He has traveled and sailed the East Coast including the Intracoastal Waterway from Northport to Florida and the Bahamas and back again. He currently sails a Catalina C 400 Mystical Paradise, sailboat set up for long-term cruising. He has written a previous article entitled “Medical Emergencies at Sea”, which has been published in many local and national boating periodicals.
Sailing as a pastime, hobby or a full-time leisure activity, can be both fulfilling and enjoyable. A sailboat has many working parts necessary to convert wind into propulsion to use the sailboat. These many working parts need to be respected, and pre-lanning is essential in their usage. The many working parts and movement of these parts and the sailboat itself, can cause accidents, falls, collisions, which may lead to injury sometimes severe. But with a little bit of planning and forethought, before its usages, the sailboat and its many working parts, can be enjoyed without injury.
This article will discuss the possible incidents and accidents, leading to injuries, and will give some suggestions for pre-planning, prevention, commonsense rules, on dealing with the many working parts of a sailboat to prevent injuries. Additionally at the end a basic primer on basic first aid including some of these of injuries will be discussed. These incidents include falling overboard, falling down hatches, falling, tripping on working lines and devices around the deck or cockpit. Hand and finger injuries as well as swinging boom injuries will be discussed. Running aground or hitting fixed objects will also be covered. Cooking aboard injuries, maintenance injuries, and seasickness although not a true injury, will be discussed. One overriding principle to be used to prevent accidents occurring, is to pre-plan in one owns mind what needs to be accomplished, how to do it, what can go wrong, how injury can be prevented.
Little information from studies — are available on the amounts of overboard incidents occurring. We’ve all heard of some catastrophic details including deaths, from crew members falling overboard on large ocean type sailboat races such as the Fastnet disaster, or Volvo Ocean races. But persons can be swept overboard in the bay or sound just as easily. Being swept overboard is one of the most fatal type injury that can occur on a sailboat. But most overboard incidents can be avoided with the application of certain precepts. These include using a little common sense, some pre-planning caution and a thorough examination and assessment of one’s environment and surroundings. Put together this is all called prevention. The main thought of any person should be “ stay on the boat”,” stay on the boat”,” stay on the boat”. Asking oneself do I need to work on deck, what pitfalls are present, i.e. low or no lifelines, low free board, open transom, etc., that could lead to going overboard. All crew members working on the sailboat should at least wear a PFD, personal flotation device. A member alone on deck, at the helm, or a lone sailor, should always wear a PFD, with a safety harness and tether attached to the boat, because no one will see him or her being swept overboard. Mentally crew members or guests should obey the adage when moving about; “one hand for me, one hand for the boat”. They should move about low to the deck, slowly and purposely always keeping one hand attached to the boat. Because we cannot always prevent persons going overboard, certain safety equipment should be available on the sailboat. This may include main overboard poles, life rings, throw rings, float-able, cushions. A hoist, PFD’s with GPS locators, all items to assist retrieval of persons thrown overboard.
Captains and their crew should practice man overboard drills to see how it’s done, to deal with any issues that arise, so in a real incident they know what to do. In these incidents, it is imperative that someone be given the job of observer. His focus is to keep an eye on the person in the water. To facilitate retrieval of the person, crew should slow the boat down by dropping sails, and then perform a Williamson turn, that is a series of s “s that turns the boat around, that allows boat to go back to retrieve person. Retrieval of the person can be accomplished with the use of ladders, davits, hoists, the boom, and crew members in the water as a last resort.
Another serious incident is falling through open hatches and walkways. This can result in injuries ranging from
contusions to serious fractures. Again a little prevention through pre-planning will help. The adage “one hand for me one hand the boat “must be observed. When moving about a moving or stationary boat one must move cautiously, slowly, and with purpose. Rushing about only causes injuries. Crew members or guests before sailing should study the locations of hatches, companion ways, and other openings which could cause a fall. Think before you move, move slowly, should be your mental condition. Owners of boats may mark those areas of danger with protective foam, and or highlight with bright colors or decals to warn others.
A third incident that may occur is tripping and falling on deck and cockpit lines and many devices used in the course of sailing. These injuries include bruises, contusions and fractures to toes, feet, lower limbs and upper limbs from tripping and falling. Pre-planning and Prevention is the key to prevent these injuries. First, study your environment, know what can trap or trip you i.e. lines, cleats, blocks, winches, and many other devices which may bite. Always move slowly purposely keeping one hand for you one hand for the boat as your mantra. Always wear sturdy shoes, boat shoes or sneakers. Never move about the boat with sandals, Flip-flops, other loose footwear or barefoot. Think before you move, ask yourself is this necessary, and what can happen to me.
A fourth type of incident which can lead to serious consequences is swinging boom accidents. The boom on a sailboat is constantly moving, is heavy and has a tremendous amount of force behind it. Injuries are many and include concussions to the head, injuries to the body and even being swept overboard. Crew members and passengers should always assess the possibility of being struck by the boom. Some prevention includes, not moving about, not standing up completely, and watching for accidental jibes or tacks which may cause accidental movement of the boom. Crew and guests should always listen to commands of the captain, during tacks and jibes, and only move about if it is necessary as part of their job. Before moving, think of what the task is, stay low, move slowly and purposely, again keeping the adage “one hand for me one for the boat.”
Another incident which can cause serious injury is hitting another object, boat, fixed dock etc. or sandbar, which
causes immediate stoppage of the boat. In these situations persons may be thrown about. Injuries occurring from this include contusions, abrasions, fractures, concussions and many worse. Pre-planning and prevention is the key to preventing these type of injuries. Always know where your boat is, what are my depths, where are the hazards I may encounter. Common sense and pre-planning must be used at all times to control the direction and motion of the boat. Captains and crew must constantly be observant for these hazards and prepare to avoid them. Use of charts, maps, radar or sonar if available, previous knowledge or information should be diligently applied. If there is ever a question or unknown information which causes a dangerous condition, captain or crew should immediately slow or stop the boat, reassesses the situation and if necessary contact, via radio persons that know the area and may help. The Coast Guard, Tow Boat US, Sea Tow, Harbormasters, or even local commercial fisherman are persons with a wealth of information about local areas unfamiliar to the boater. The Avoiding any object should be the main focus of a crew member or the captain.
Because sailboats often cruise long-distance and days, we conduct our lives accordingly which includes cooking food. But because we are on a sometimes moving object, cooking on a boat is not like cooking at home on a steady platform. Because of movement of boat, hot water, steam, flames, may move, surfaces may move, items may shift resulting in burns, cuts from knives, or appliances, injuries to body from movement. Preplanning and prevention may help: know your environment; are there possible splashes of hot fluids, loose items, sharp edges, that will hurt me. Cruising crew should always think of what they are going to do, secure loose items, obtain necessary tools before they start. Always know the limits and capacities of cooking systems, danger or flame, spillage possibilities and other things that may injure. They should always know the location of emergency gas shutoff switches, fire extinguishers, and procedures of what to do in case of fire. Again they should move slowly purposely and obey the adage one hand for me one hand for the boat. If cooking underway, person in galley should use available handholds and or be tied in to secure locations so as to prevent falls.
Seasickness although not a true injury, is an illness that can cause much dismay pain and discomfort as to ruin the crew members or guest day and/or trip. Often called motion sickness, mal de mar, “I want to die syndrome”, and many other terms, it can be a wrenching illness. It is caused by one’s brain and central nervous system receiving conflicting signals from the inner ear and the eyes. It can occur out on the ocean or on a calm day in a bay with devastating results. The symptoms may include: dizziness; nausea; vomiting; painful stomach; balance problems; feeling of movement when there is none. Prevention before the onset of seasickness is perhaps the only cure. Medically there are medications and devices which may be taken including, Bonine Meclizine, Benadryl and others. Accu bands which create pressure on key pressure points on the wrist, have been known to prevent seasickness also. Avoiding heavy greasy meals before or during sailing, avoiding caffeine drinks, and avoiding those foods which is known in the past to cause sickness will help. While on board sit in the middle of the boat, keep your eyes open on the water and boat, keep busy if possible, hydrate with water, ginger ale, cola syrup, eat ginger cookies, saltines etc. Do not go below. Sometimes sleep can cure the illness. Often the only cure may be to get oneself on dry land. In any event prevention before the onset seems to be the most diligent cure.
Because a sailboat as many working systems, maintenance is necessary. Performing maintenance can cause a myriad
of injuries if not thought out ahead of time. First know your limitations is this a job I can do for myself or left to professionals. Know your equipment engine parts and other moving parts i.e. blocks, lines, winches, electrical, booms. Moving or standing rigging can catch or hit body parts, causing simple to massive injuries. If there be a choice of working on Dynamic versus Stagnant machinery systems, working on stagnant, non-moving or non-charged systems is always preferred: Hands or other body parts may get caught in a moving engine; The charged Electrical system may cause serious burns; Rigging under load (which has tremendous release force capabilities) will cause serious injuries. Pre-planning safety, includes making sure these systems are all shut down and not under load. Make a plan, move slowly and purposely. Have all tools available/ think before acting. Use extreme caution if it is necessary to work on Dynamic, moving or charged systems, i.e. engine adjustments, electrical adjustments, rigging and sailing repairs. When working on boat on dry land be sure ladders are safe and secured to the boat. Be particularly slow and cautious on ladders, move slowly and cautiously as falls from heights to the ground may be catastrophic. Author note ugggh
Some basic first aid, certainly not everything.
1. Attend to severe bleeding first. To stop bleeding use clean gauze, apply direct pressure to wound; elevate wound
above the heart; apply pressure to pressure points (brachial inside of bicep, femoral inside of thigh);apply tourniquet just above wound***used only as a last resort. (Only used when if bleeding continues, person will die immediately)
2. Cardiac arrest /cessation of breathing/ call for immediate help, remember ABC
A Airway, clear airway of obstruction person on back /chin lift
B Breathing, listen and look chest movement if none- start mouth to mouth
C Circulation, lack of heartbeat- perform chest compressions
3. Wounds with impaled objects or embedded glass/ do not remove object, cover with clean gauze, wrap loosely, do not apply any heavy ointment/crème. Clean wounds/ close wounds if possible, wrap to stop bleeding, keep immobilized, and keep out dirt.
4. Eye wounds/ protect eye keep out sun cover with gauze patch, do not cause pressure.
5. Bruises Contusions sprains/ apply ice immediately, ace bandage to immobilize, put no pressure on joint limb etc., and limit movement
6. Fractures/ Dislocations/ immobilize limb/ splint limb in place as found (never reset bone/ limb) use gauze cover to stop any bleed.
7. Burns/ if slight soak in cold water. Skin broken cover same with gauze (air hurts) do not apply ointment or cream, treat for shock (elevate feet)
8. Fainting spells/ have person lie down elevate feet. Monitor /watch breathing.
9. Heat poisoning and heat stroke/ remove from sun/heat, cool off slowly, give water sparingly
10. Ingested poisons substances/ give copious amounts of water; induce vomiting only if ingested substances are nonacid (may burn on way out).
11. Stings bites imbedded small objects spines/ clean area remove stinger or hook apply antibiotic/Ambesol, cover with clean gauze /band aid.
13. Water Hypothermia- remove person from water immediately. Remove wet clothing cover with space blanket or dry
blanket. Re heat body slowly warm (not hot wrapping), warm liquids Monitor vitals, TX for shock.
14. Shock- from loss of blood to brain/ other trauma–. Have person lie down elevate feet monitor all vitals watch
especially for breathing. Give o 2 as needed.
15. Head injuries concussions –treat open wounds as above. Have person lie down, check and monitor vitals, closely
continue to monitor breathing and vitals. Get immediate help.
Whether it be day sailing in the bay or cruising on the coast, sailing is an adventure. But it is a working adventure with an environment of many moving parts and systems. These working dynamic systems must be respected and
worked with. The sailor must constantly assess and reassess his surroundings and actions to those surroundings for
to ignore may lead to serious injury and more. But Sailing can be rewarding and absent of accidents and incidents if sailors take some time in preparation and planning. Having a plan for the day’s sail, and tasks that need to be done safely, will result in no incidents or injuries. Planning in advance and having a plan will always reduce risk. Boat preparation as well as crew preparation and planning is essential. Where all else is done, certain actions will cause certain consequences and sailor whether crew or guests must be trained and or prepared to take necessary action because of those consequences. Having a plan, knowing and using known safe techniques, using common sense approaches, analyzing tasks and moving slowly, will insure a safe and happy voyage. This works for the big ocean sailor, as well as the small day sailor in the sound or bay. Fair winds and safe sailing to all…
Tony Pozun, author